Magda - Balance 27

Magda - Balance 27
In the years since she left Minus, Magda has tried to shake off "the mistress of minimal" tag. Not that it ever really suited her in the first place. Though she shared countless stages with the likes of Richie Hawtin throughout the '00s, she always delivered something more bubbly than the classic minimal style.

And so it is on the second, more club-focused CD of Magda's Balance mix. While a bit more colourful and playful, this is clearly the same DJ who mixed 2006's She's A Dancing Machine and 2009's fabric 49. Magda's sets are always stuffed with so many tunes that there's no real chance to get bored—no matter how rudimentary a track is, it's barely a minute before it moves into another. And this CD is bursting with those wriggling basslines that are her calling card, like the funky little number that pops out in Jonson and Siminski's remix of Seth Troxler's "Evangelion." Tom Trago's "Fall On Me" winds and grinds at the end of the mix, and in between we have plenty of acid squelch, punchy drums and daft noises, making this one of the most fun techno mixes in recent memory.

If that's fairly classic Magda, the first CD sees her heading into more abstract and experimental electronics from artists such as Wishmountain, Shackleton and Dinos Chapman. These are the sounds she's been exploring with her partner Daniela Huerta under the name Cornerbred, and she sounds like she's still feeling her way around a bit. There are odd textures in NYMA and Carreno Is LB's "Solaria,"greasy squeaks in CV30X's "2x4," and odd surprises like the double bass in Gregory Fleckner Quintet's "How Much Would Conkers Cost?" Rework's "Traubenzucker" is the only time Balance 27 sinks into the turgid minimal sound Magda's been trying to escape. But it doesn't take too long for her to find another bassline and pull herself out with a bounce.

More on Magda

Magda's realm as an artist spans far beyond the typical role played by DJs and producers. With an open mind, Magda will try her hand at whatever feels right: from producing high-quality Tequila to tech collaborations, fashion and art, Magda has created..
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